Where can I find quality Mastodon apps for Android?
Recently, I started exploring for a Twitter substitute (and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not the only one), and I found Mastodon. It's nice there since most of the people seem intelligent, amiable, and less explosive than on Twitter. But as I began to become accustomed to the user interface, I discovered that while the mobile app was functional, there was room for improvement. So when I learned that a brand-new one called Ivory was in testing and, by all accounts, offered a far better experience, I was excited to give it a try.
I then ran into a well-known issue: Ivory is only compatible with iOS devices. I employ Android.
I've been using Android smartphones for a while now. I enjoy using Android and feel at ease using it, but I'm not devoted to it. I have nothing at all against iOS or iPhones; I actually have one at my desk that I use for work. There are aspects of iOS and Android that I prefer over the other.
On the other hand, I have to admit that I occasionally resemble an irate five-year-old for a brief period when I learn about an app that seems incredibly simple and helpful, rush to its website to see if I can check it out, and discover that it's only available for iOS. I want to play with this new gadget, and anyone who tells me I can't makes me very angry.
I'm not alone in this. Recently, this topic has been the subject of several fascinating conversations on Mastodon. Many Mastodon rookies are now looking for apps to enhance the experience, especially those who are accustomed to the Twitter UI and third-party apps from Twitter. Unsurprisingly, iOS is developing better apps than Android.
Why? There are many other solutions, and many of them have already been debated on Mastodon in various forums.
These apps were created by Twitter-based iOS developers.
Developers who have produced third-party Twitter apps are, quite understandably, switching to Mastodon now that Elon Musk has banned them from the platform. For instance, Ivory, which is now being hailed as the next big thing in terms of Mastodon users, is being developed by Tapbots, a two-person development company that created Tweetbot and a few other apps for iOS and macOS. They clearly do not have Android on their radar.
The process of creating Android apps is more difficult.
The few phones that Apple sells each year are designed to work with its most recent operating system. Android, on the other hand, is available on phones made by a wide range of manufacturers for a wide range of phones, and the operating system is frequently heavily modified. For instance, Samsung, the company behind many of the Android phones currently available, offers a version of Android whose user interface and most fundamental functions may differ significantly from Google's version (which can be found on phones like the Pixel line).
To deal with those discrepancies, resources are needed, which may not be available to independent developers or small businesses. "These days, it's pretty rare to see any significant company fail to release an app for both Android and iOS at the same time, with equal priorities," says JR Raphael, creator and publisher of Android Intelligence. I believe that the smaller, startup-based services and more independent app developers are where we see a clear disparity. We do still see places sometimes focusing on iOS initially and then returning to Android later, down the line—or perhaps even just focusing on iOS exclusively—in those types of situations, where resources are clearly limited and a firm needs to decide where its attention is most useful. The situation is frustrating, and I wish we could fix it.
Apple users are more likely to make purchases of their products.
People that frequent the Apple environment are thought to be either wealthier or more prepared to splurge on their technology. Apple is undoubtedly renowned for charging more for its devices. And while the best Android phones, like the most recent Pixels or those supplied by Samsung, aren't exactly dirt cheap gadgets, there are a number of cheaper Android phones available.
Now for some statistics: In the third quarter of 2022, Apple's App Store brought in around $21.2 billion compared to the Play Store's $10.4 billion, according to Statista.com. Nevertheless, Apple reported 2 billion active users in its report of first-quarter results in 2023, which is a billion fewer than the 3 billion active devices that Google announced in 2021. Therefore, the App Store is making significantly more money despite being utilized by significantly fewer people, unless Google lost over a billion users over the course of the past year, which undoubtedly would have made news. While a significant portion of the money undoubtedly goes to games, developers are still receiving a larger share of the pie than on Android.
So, there are certain facts that support that impression. And because of this and other difficulties, a smaller business or even a single developer can discover that—regardless of their own preferences—making apps for iOS devices makes more financial sense.
Apple's user interface is more artistic.
The claim that Apple's apps are simply more enjoyable creatively and from a user experience perspective is the one that most intrigued me. The claim that the UI of macOS and iOS applications is far more aesthetically beautiful and user-friendly than that of applications created to work with Android's OS is one that I frequently hear from Apple devotees. http://sentrateknikaprima.com/
For instance, John Gruber, host of The Talk Show With John Gruber and author of the blog Daring Fireball, produced a few well-written essays addressing issue. The item "Making Our Hearts Sing," whose title is a quotation from Steve Jobs' final stage performance, attracted my attention the most. According to Gruber, during the past ten years or more, rather than the two platforms finding any sort of balance, the cultural divides have widened as a result of users' and developers' internal sorting. The majority of people who recognize and value the creative value in software and interface design have chosen iOS; those who don't have chosen Android. https://ejtandemonium.com/
Recently, I started exploring for a Twitter substitute (and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not the only one), and I found Mastodon. It's nice there since most of the people seem intelligent, amiable, and less explosive than on Twitter. But as I began to become accustomed to the user interface, I discovered that while the mobile app was functional, there was room for improvement. So when I learned that a brand-new one called Ivory was in testing and, by all accounts, offered a far better experience, I was excited to give it a try.
I then ran into a well-known issue: Ivory is only compatible with iOS devices. I employ Android.
I've been using Android smartphones for a while now. I enjoy using Android and feel at ease using it, but I'm not devoted to it. I have nothing at all against iOS or iPhones; I actually have one at my desk that I use for work. There are aspects of iOS and Android that I prefer over the other.
On the other hand, I have to admit that I occasionally resemble an irate five-year-old for a brief period when I learn about an app that seems incredibly simple and helpful, rush to its website to see if I can check it out, and discover that it's only available for iOS. I want to play with this new gadget, and anyone who tells me I can't makes me very angry.
I'm not alone in this. Recently, this topic has been the subject of several fascinating conversations on Mastodon. Many Mastodon rookies are now looking for apps to enhance the experience, especially those who are accustomed to the Twitter UI and third-party apps from Twitter. Unsurprisingly, iOS is developing better apps than Android.
Why? There are many other solutions, and many of them have already been debated on Mastodon in various forums.
These apps were created by Twitter-based iOS developers.
Developers who have produced third-party Twitter apps are, quite understandably, switching to Mastodon now that Elon Musk has banned them from the platform. For instance, Ivory, which is now being hailed as the next big thing in terms of Mastodon users, is being developed by Tapbots, a two-person development company that created Tweetbot and a few other apps for iOS and macOS. They clearly do not have Android on their radar.
The process of creating Android apps is more difficult.
The few phones that Apple sells each year are designed to work with its most recent operating system. Android, on the other hand, is available on phones made by a wide range of manufacturers for a wide range of phones, and the operating system is frequently heavily modified. For instance, Samsung, the company behind many of the Android phones currently available, offers a version of Android whose user interface and most fundamental functions may differ significantly from Google's version (which can be found on phones like the Pixel line).
To deal with those discrepancies, resources are needed, which may not be available to independent developers or small businesses. "These days, it's pretty rare to see any significant company fail to release an app for both Android and iOS at the same time, with equal priorities," says JR Raphael, creator and publisher of Android Intelligence. I believe that the smaller, startup-based services and more independent app developers are where we see a clear disparity. We do still see places sometimes focusing on iOS initially and then returning to Android later, down the line—or perhaps even just focusing on iOS exclusively—in those types of situations, where resources are clearly limited and a firm needs to decide where its attention is most useful. The situation is frustrating, and I wish we could fix it.
Apple users are more likely to make purchases of their products.
People that frequent the Apple environment are thought to be either wealthier or more prepared to splurge on their technology. Apple is undoubtedly renowned for charging more for its devices. And while the best Android phones, like the most recent Pixels or those supplied by Samsung, aren't exactly dirt cheap gadgets, there are a number of cheaper Android phones available.
Now for some statistics: In the third quarter of 2022, Apple's App Store brought in around $21.2 billion compared to the Play Store's $10.4 billion, according to Statista.com. Nevertheless, Apple reported 2 billion active users in its report of first-quarter results in 2023, which is a billion fewer than the 3 billion active devices that Google announced in 2021. Therefore, the App Store is making significantly more money despite being utilized by significantly fewer people, unless Google lost over a billion users over the course of the past year, which undoubtedly would have made news. While a significant portion of the money undoubtedly goes to games, developers are still receiving a larger share of the pie than on Android.
So, there are certain facts that support that impression. And because of this and other difficulties, a smaller business or even a single developer can discover that—regardless of their own preferences—making apps for iOS devices makes more financial sense.
Apple's user interface is more artistic.
The claim that Apple's apps are simply more enjoyable creatively and from a user experience perspective is the one that most intrigued me. The claim that the UI of macOS and iOS applications is far more aesthetically beautiful and user-friendly than that of applications created to work with Android's OS is one that I frequently hear from Apple devotees. http://sentrateknikaprima.com/
For instance, John Gruber, host of The Talk Show With John Gruber and author of the blog Daring Fireball, produced a few well-written essays addressing issue. The item "Making Our Hearts Sing," whose title is a quotation from Steve Jobs' final stage performance, attracted my attention the most. According to Gruber, during the past ten years or more, rather than the two platforms finding any sort of balance, the cultural divides have widened as a result of users' and developers' internal sorting. The majority of people who recognize and value the creative value in software and interface design have chosen iOS; those who don't have chosen Android. https://ejtandemonium.com/